losing the passion to play

allie said:
I too am experiencing a loss of passion for pool. I've been playing full-time on the WPBA since 2000, and just gave notice to the WPBA office that I am taking the rest of the year off (this means missing the last three events of the year).

I guess I got pretty burnt out as well, and am now just enjoying the other things in life that I neglected due to pool. I do plan, however, on playing full-time in 2009 on tour. I just hope that I am able to regain my passion and excitement for playing in the meantime.

Like everyone else has suggested, go out and enjoy yourself! :smile:

Alice Rim
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Sorry to hear your not playing for the rest of the year. You have a lot of fans on AZ and beyond, but you have to do what's best for you. From what I hear, your not the only one that is packing it in for awhile. My last count was 6 in the top 40. Johnnyt
 
Thank you for all of the advice and sharing your experience(s). I will definately give them all a try. As I mentioned before, I have not given up on pool and have no regrets with my past experience with it. But, for now, it just seems that the fire is at a minimum and I am waiting for it to be full-blown again. Thanks again to all who posted.
 
Whoever mentioned goals is right. I never put the cue down until I got the records in masse. Now I dont play, I can have five days off from work and still wont play. I even went six months never hitting a ball.

Funny though I play better than ever. I hit masse shots like no one that ever lived. I am stronger and healthier than ever and have no ambition for pool at all...I remember the second my pool bug was drained.
Jamison
 
pinoyincalgary said:
Hello,
I am on my pool lull at the moment. Just woke up one day and did not have any fire or interest in playing pool. Tried to do the same routine of going to the pool hall and playing, but, after doing this for 1 week, still felt really bored. Pool is usually in my head 24/7...now, it feels that I have to force myself to go to my basement to hit a few balls.

This is not the first time that this happened to me. It was about 15 yrs ago that I had a similar experience. It took about 3yrs for me to be infected again by the pool bug.

Just wondering who else had a pool hibernation stage? I do not see it as giving up as it has been a great/big part of my life. My pool table and cues are still staying with me; they will still get their regular maintainance and check up.
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Maybe you're just a little burned out on pool. To devote thought and time to anything on a 24/7 basis can be draining. Some time off might be good for your head and your game.

I find it easier to keep it fresh by having multiple passions. This way, when one starts to get stale, you can shift over to another one for awhile. When that one is losing its appeal, shift again. For me, having more than one interest not only keeps things engaging, but, I even find myself learning things in one discipline that I can apply to another either directly, or indirectly.

Myself, I tend to continue exploring new and different options, but there are about 3 I continually come back to. Works for me.

Another thing I have found is that when I first work towards proficiency at something, I may spend 5, 6, 7 hours or more on it....read everything I can, etc. but once you reach a certain point, you don't need to put that much time in to maintain. You probably won't progress that way, but you can maintain close to the level you've attained without putting in the hours you once did.

Good Luck, I hope you get your fire back.

R.S.
 
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My desire to play comes and goes with me, and has been this way for years now. This year I was really into playing the first few months and got into pretty good stroke. I was preparing for a big match that didn't happen. And I played in a couple of bar table events with mixed results. I did start to play pretty good though. And I had a successful trip to the Philippines in April where I played a lot of pool. You know you're hitting 'em good, when you keep getting turned down for games (One Pocket and Banks) over there. I was banging those banks in, and those guy's eyes got really big. :)

I did get several Rotation games with some of their "shortstops" and held my own pretty good. I was proud of myself, firing in some tough shots to get out several times. There were always big crowds around the table too, which I loved. I'd pick out a "buddy" in the crowd and wink at him after I made a good shot. I even got a few "high fives". And we were gambling, but very cheap by American standards. The biggest bet I remember was 1,000p a game ($25). It felt like a cheap date to me, so I swung away at anything I could see. Ask anyone who knows me, and I was always labeled a shot maker.

But since I got back, I've played less and less. I have let myself get out of stroke again. Dang! I doubt that I've played two hours of pool in the last four months. I've become a keyboard pool player. :D
After I got back from the PI, it became all about poker and the World Series. Well I bombed out over there, taking a few horrendous beats, and that was that. Now, it's no pool and no poker. I write on here and work on my book. I'll start playing pool again sometime soon I hope.
 
Hi Pinoy. I'm now in a 3 year pool lull. I just can't seem to find that itch that used to make play. I used to have to squeeze pool somewhere in the day, even if I had to take some extra time at lunchtime. I was playing competitively about 4 times a week. There was a time where if I wasn't seen with my pool case it was like, "whoa no pool cues today?!" to now if I'm even seen with my case it would be like, "whoa you're playing again?!" I can't even fathom the thought of going to a pool room to watch a tournament cause the last time I did that I wound up leaving after about 45 minutes cause it just wasn't my scene anymore. I think back to when I would spend a whole week at the US Open in VA and wonder how the hell I even did that. Sigh. I even was spoken to at work for either showing up late or constantly calling in. My lull started from being disgusted at the way people behaved because of who I was with, knew, etc. Then boredom came from it. I still follow tournaments through web pages and I do get Inside Pool and Billiards Digest, but I don't even read them from cover to cover like I used to. I skim through them the way you would when you're looking for a phone number through a phone book.

If the bug finds me again, I don't know if I can do what I used to do--spend no time with my family, eat unhealthily, no exercise, jeopardize my job, etc. I don't think that "itch" will come again.
 
Pool left me when college ended and I had to start working at a job. That was in 1964, and I worked until 1992, but then got into flying, Frisbee, Ferraris and yoga and then got back into pool in 2004. So that was 40 years of no pool! Since 2004 I've been into pool in a big way, but I doubt I'll be staying at this high level of intensity.

Life comes at us in cycles. Relax and enjoy the ride...
 
mr starkey

desi2960 said:
10 years ago i could not wait until the next tournament, i was chomping at the bit all the time and went to every tournament within driving distance. then i started building cues, now it seems that i enjoy spending more time in my workshop than spending time on my pool table. chuck
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Chuck you are the man. PM me with details on the new cues won't ya?
 
Siz said:
I think that Neil is quite right.

Maybe you need to have a long hard think about exactly what it was that you used to get out of the game. If you can pin it down, then perhaps that will help you find some direction and goals that will rekindle your interest.

Bob Fancher's book "Pleasures of Small Motions" contains some good material on what motivates people to play and enjoy the game - you might find this a useful read.
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Fantastic book. 10/10
 
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